


Hidden Feelings

by SKRena



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M, I'm still bad at tags, Lori is a bitch, Lori is manipulative, Merle 'seems' like a nice guy, Merle is kind of gay, Pre-Apocalypse, Shane is totally with Rick's daughter, this sounds wrong and it is but it's kind of sweet
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-30
Updated: 2016-03-31
Packaged: 2018-03-04 07:12:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2959193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SKRena/pseuds/SKRena
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Claire Grimes has been harboring hidden feelings for her dad's best friend, Shane Walsh, in secret, but now she decides to act on them. Will things change for the worse or for the better when she decides to make her move and will Shane come to share her feelings? (Starts out before the Zombie Apocalypse, but will eventually get there.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

When I was eleven years old, my parents both died in a tragic car accident. Since my grandparents had died the previous year before, I was left with no one to take care of me. That was until I met my estranged uncle, who hadn't talked to my father in years; mainly because there was such an age gap between the two of them and they had vastly different outtakes on life. My father was more laid back type, even when he was nearly forty. My uncle, Rick Grimes, was twelve years younger than my father and had his own five year old child when he took me in. I knew things couldn't have been easy financially for them, but that just made me a million times more thankful for them stepping into my life when they did. That's why I would refer to them as dad and mom, because they've been there for me half of my life almost.

Now, let's get onto the real story here.

I think I was about fifteen when I noticed the heated glances Shane would give Lori. They were never anything more than a two second stare down or a quick glance over her entire body. Occasionally, I would catch the complete and utter sadness that Shane hid deep within his heart. I knew that it wasn't my place to stick my opinion into affairs that weren't mine, but it gave me small pains in my chest every time I would have to see that foregone look on Shane's face.

By the time I saw sixteen and starting to realize what getting older meant to my hormonal balance, the tight pains in my chest were getting stronger and stronger. It was to the point where I could barely stand it when I watched Shane stare sadly at Lori. That summer, I broke down and realized that the reason for the pain in my chest was the unnatural feelings that I was harboring for Shane. At first, I tried to deny everything. There was no way that I could be in love with Shane, right? I was too young to be feeling such things. I was only sixteen, I didn't even know what love was. That's what college is for.

I spent a the rest of the year in denial. It was only natural that I tried to deceive myself. For fuck's sake, Shane was fourteen years older than me. While I didn't see that as a problem, I knew that other people would. Sure, the age of consent in Georgia was sixteen, but that doesn't apply to when I'm trying to bang a police officer.

After my winter of denial was over, I decided to make a move. I wasn’t going to sit idly. The month after my seventeenth birthday I was going to try and take his gaze from my mom. I knew that I was being a stupid teenager, but I couldn't just sit around any longer. Not only was the moral compass starting to snap, I'm pretty sure that my libido was on the verge of overflowing.

* * *

 

Shane was sitting in a cruiser by himself. My dad was no where in sight, thankfully. Odds are that he was probably back at the station dealing with some important paperwork, or something to the same lame effect. Regardless, it was my lucky day, because this meant that I was able to catch Shane all alone, which is the opportunity that I had been patiently waiting for.

Carefully and quietly, I sneaked up to the cruiser while trying not to be seen. I walked up to his window undetected. A small giggle tried rising out of me, but I carefully swallowed it as I prepared to scare the shit out of the unsuspecting man. With a deep breath, I started pounding on the window and Shane looked like he practically pissed himself by the way he glared at me from the driver's seat.

“Hey, stranger,” I said to the very angry looking Shane, which immediately made him smile, so I guess I won that one.

“What do you need, Claire?” he asked smoothly as he went back to reading the magazine that he was been staring at moments before.

“I was wondering if you could help me with a problem. I need to know something about the law, but I can’t ask my father.” I watched his reaction carefully. He didn’t seem surprised, but he didn’t look thrilled at the idea of talking behind my father’s back.

“Umm, sure,” he finally said. “Why don’t you jump on in the other side?”

I smiled and walked around the cruiser to get in. Shane rubbed the back of his head when I got in. He was nervous, which could be a really good thing, or it could be really bad.

“So, what did you need to know about?” Shane asked.

“Well, let’s say that I wanted to try and win the favor of a guy that’s older than me by a lot.” Shane’s eyes widened in shock and I chose my next words wisely. “Could I put that guy in a very bad position legally by trying to gain his affections?”

Shane let out a long breath. “I now understand why you couldn’t talk to your dad about this. He’d probably kill you if he knew.” Shane kept his eyes forward, looking anywhere except for me. “Well, legally you’d be okay, but other people wouldn’t be so accepting. I mean, your father would probably try to kill him. That would probably mean I would have to help your father.”

“That’s good to know,” I said awkwardly. There wasn’t anyone I could ask besides him. There was always the internet, but I wanted to be sure. If I asked any of the other officers, they would have just told my dad. “Umm… do you have any ideas for trying to win a grown man over?” I really should be more embarrassed than I am, but I think most of my shame went out the window after I decided to try and bone my dad's best friend.

Shane let out a laugh that was anything but sweet. “It really depends what type of guy you’re trying to win over. I like women that are mature, spontaneous, and have things together, but that’s not always the case. Some older men would probably like you looking as young and foolish as you could be, that way they could take advantage of you.” He had to be really nervous if he is rambling this bad.

“Umm, thanks for the advice.” I gave him a small smile. He really didn’t know how much I appreciated this advice.

“Yeah, I guess. You’re welcome. Now, I need you to listen to me. I'm not going to tell your dad what you're attempting to do, because you're almost an adult and will need to learn about consequences, but this doesn't mean that I'm approving of it either.” I leaned in right next to his head and he turned suddenly. “What,” he managed to say before I made my move. In one swift movement my mouth was on his. His body went rigid, probably from shock and his eyes widened in comically visible shock.

“Thanks for the advice,” I whispered in his ear after I was done stealing his kiss. As I got out of the car, he was still as could be. Instinct took over then and I took off running since he was distracted. Sooner than I was expecting, I heard the police car start. He headed in my direction, but I ducked inside of a store. As Shane drove by, he had his head stuck out the window, looking for me obviously. I just hoped that he wouldn’t do anything stupid while looking for me.

Once I thought the coast was clear, I headed out of the shop and down the street. Home probably wouldn’t be the safest place right now, so I headed in the opposite direction. I know running is the cowardly thing to do, but I didn’t know what else to do now. There was no real plan. I was going to just wing it, but now that I’ve made a move, I’m running scared. I don’t know what to do. My hope was that everything would eventually turn out alright.

My feet carried me down to the park that I always hide out in. It was run down and almost abandoned, which meant that it was deserted because parents hardly let their kids come here. It was my favorite spot and it helped me think while I was there. It was a common place for me to go whenever my parents started fighting, which was often nowadays. I climbed up onto the playground equipment. There was a small enclosed area above the tallest slide that I sat down in. No one would see me up in here unless they came up the playground equipment, which no one usually came here.

I closed my eyes and relaxed. My plan was to just sit here a while, but I slowly came to realize just how tired I was. With no control over it, I fell asleep right there.

* * *

When I awoke, I was surprisingly warm. Cold air bit into my face, so I curled deeper into the blankets for warmth. There was a chuckle and my eyes snapped open.

“Finally awake,” Shane said with a chuckle. “I really didn’t think you’d fall asleep in a park like this. Although it isn't the first time you've done it.”

“How’d you even find me?” I asked with a yawn. “Not many people come to this park anymore.”

“You don’t think that no one’s ever noticed you here? In all the times I’ve been patrolling, you’re almost always sitting up here.” Shane looked at me like he was trying to be angry. It was kind of cute.

I laughed and stretched out my limbs a little. “You really are an officer.” Shane gave me a look that read ‘no shit’, but I ignored it. “If you’ve seen me up here, how come you’ve never sent me home?”

Shane rubbed the back of his head. “I guessed that you were running from your parents. Rick has told me some of the fights your mom has been starting. No one wants to see their parents say those types of things to each other. Plus, if I’d sent you away, you wouldn’t have gone home. You’d just be wandering around somewhere else and no one would know where you are.”

I nodded in acceptance of his answer. “So, what time is it?”

He gave me an odd look before answering, “It’s 6:34.”

I made a humming noise in the back of my throat. “My parents are probably looking for me then.” Shane nodded. I pulled out my cell phone and called my mom. Shane watched me curiously as I did so.

“Where are you?” she answered the phone.

“I’m at a friend’s house,” I replied. Shane shook his head, but didn’t say anything. “Is it alright if I spend the night?”

There was silence on the other end. Then I heard a door slam. “Oh, yeah sure. I’ll see you tomorrow. I have to go.” Click.

It was best I didn’t try and say anything to her. Another fight was about to start and me trying to prolong any sort of conversation was just asking to escalate the fight.

“Are you really planning on going to a friend’s house?” I heard Shane ask.

“No,” I replied. It wasn’t like I could just drop in on a friend.

“Then, where do you plan on going?” he asked with concern.

“I more or less have a place to go. I take care of the upkeep on a friend's house and keep the place spotless in exchange for using the house whenever I want," I explained briefly.

“Where would this house be exactly?” Shane asked. Damn he was being nosy, but I couldn't necessarily blame him.

“The house is on the edge of town on the west side. Since she moved out, she needs someone to watch over it, so I stay there every now and then. It was her family's home so therefore she refuses to sell it.” My eyes studied Shane. Yeah, he wasn't believing this story at all.

There was an old lady that moved to Atlanta when she remarried, but she couldn’t bear giving up the house since it's where she had grown up. Since I was always close to her, she left me the house to take care of. She even told me that she’d be leaving it to me in her will, because I was the closest thing she had to a daughter. In all honesty, I thought of her a second mother. She was definitely there for me when my real mother couldn’t be.

There was a spark of something in Shane's eyes before he asked, “Wait, are you talking about Old Lady Winter’s house?” I nodded. It wasn’t like one person knowing was going to hurt. “I’m assuming that you don’t want me to tell your parents.”

“I really don’t care whether you tell them or not. It’s not like I’ll stop using the house. I owe it to Old Lady Winter to take care of the house.” I stared at him defiantly, although I'm pretty sure that I more looked like a harmless puppy, which I hope that Shane likes puppies. 

“Alright, I won’t tell your parents, but don’t stay away from home too often.” Shane rose and began to walk back towards his cruiser. He stopped almost all the way there and turned back to me. “Are you coming or not?” I stared at him in confusion and he chuckled at me. “I was offering you a ride.”

Quickly, I scrambled up and ran to the cruiser. I wasn’t about to turn down an offer to ride with Shane. I jumped in and Shane started the car right away. Warm air soon flooded in and I sighed in relief. Shane laughed at me and I stuck out my lip in a pout.

“I have a right to laugh at you,” he declared. “You’re too weird.”

“Do I have the right to call you a pig because you’re a cop?” I replied.

“Touché,” Shane replied with a laugh.

The car fell into an awkward silence and I didn’t know what to do. We arrived at the house and I moved to unbuckle. I heard Shane mumble something and then I was pinned to my seat. His mouth was on mine and I barely restrained a moan as he deepened the kiss. Damn, he is a really good kisser. He pulled away sooner than I would have liked. Then, he handed me a piece of paper.

“I figured that you might want that,” he said as he rubbed the back of his head. Holy shit! He just handed me his phone number. “Feel free to call me.” He leaned over once more and kissed me again. It was rushed and hard, but damn did I like it.

He pulled away and I practically jumped out of the cruiser. I was in the house before I even looked back, and then I just stared at the door for a long time. Had that really just happened? Shane had kissed me! I practically felt like squealing in delight.

I felt like I was walking on air as I made up supper for myself. The events of the day replayed in my head, but I couldn’t get the worries out of my head. Was Shane just messing with me? If he was, then he wouldn’t have given me his number? Though it could be a fake number, but he probably wouldn’t do that to someone he had to see so often. Plus, I can practically get ahold of him anytime I want already. It’s not that hard to find a cop in this town. Also, he’s always with my dad.

I came to the conclusion that Shane was probably just curious about what it would be like to mess with me. Satisfied with that answer, I went to bed.


	2. Chapter 2

I opened my eyes and the first thing I realized was that I felt just absolutely miserable. I moved my hand to my head to rub my burning eyes, but my attempts were thwarted when I realized that I could hardly lift my arm. The next thing to come to my attention was the fact that my head felt like it was stuffed with cotton. Suddenly, a wave of coolness swept over me despite my burning skin and I shiver violently. Out of nowhere, I am overcome with the feeling of wanting to throw up. It took all my strength not to roll over and vomit everywhere.

I took a couple of slow and deep breaths before thinking. Being this sick I would need help. This wasn’t just something I was going to get over in a couple of hours. No matter how much I wanted to, I couldn’t call my parents, because I didn’t want them finding out about this place. I could call one of my friends, I mused.

Sluggishly, but with hope, I reached under my pillow in an attempt to find my phone. Luckily, I didn’t end up pushing it off the bed while I was sleeping. My fingers brushed against the cold metal of my phone and I curled my fingers around it before pulling it to my face. Slowly, I pulled up my friend’s number and proceeded to hit dial. The phone started to dial and I sat on edge just hoping that she would answer, but with each ring, I began to feel worse and worse. Eventually, I got her voicemail and I cursed under my breath.

This was no reason to panic though. If she wasn’t going to answer, I could just call my friend Sage. If Sage didn’t answer, that would be the time to panic. Carefully, I put in her number and hit call. I about cried out with happiness when she picked up.

My happiness dropped almost instantly though, because after picking up, she immediately said, “Sorry, I can’t talk right now. I’m at my grandparent’s house. I’m getting yelled at.”

“Okay,” I mumbled in a defeated tone and Sage hung up halfway through my reply.

I know what you’re thinking. Why don’t I just call my other friends? Well, I only really had two friends. I did have one other friend, but I knew he was working right now, so I couldn’t bother him.

With a grumble, I rolled over to glare at the wall. Unconsciously, my eyes fell onto a piece of paper sitting on my nightstand, and a very bad idea popped into my head. No, I can’t, I told myself. Shane only just gave me his number last night, I can’t abuse it already. Plus, it’ll look desperate if I call him now!

I decided that it would be better to use Shane’s number as a last resort, so instead of calling him, I tried getting out of bed, but I tumbled to the ground right away. Surprisingly, well, surprising to me, my legs felt like jelly as soon as I tried putting any weight on them. Internally, I started cussing and defiantly tried many times to stand.

After minutes of trying to stand, I came the conclusion that I probably wasn’t going to succeed any time soon. Reluctantly, I reached for the paper and entered the number into my phone. Then, after taking a deep breath, I pressed call and held my breath. It rang a few times, and then he answered both to my relief and horror.

“Hello,” Shane answered. His tone was a little strained.

“Shane,” I managed to say. I hoped that my voice came out strong, but I don’t think it did.

“Hey, sorry, I can’t talk right now. I’ll call you back later.” Shane sounded rushed, so I felt guilty about bothering him.

“Uhh sure,” I mumbled and then he hung up.

Well, I was positively screwed, I decided with a sigh. As quick as I could, I pulled the blankets off my bed since I was certain that I couldn’t pull myself back onto the bed. As soon as my eyes were shut, I was asleep once again.

* * *

There was a loud noise that roused my quite reluctantly out of my sleep. Suddenly, I felt myself being lifted and I almost panicked. As I was plopped down on the soft mattress, I opened my eyes to try and figure out who was in the house, but the person had escaped the room in only a matter of seconds.

In the distance, I could hear a loud noise in the kitchen and a lot of heavy, quick footsteps. There was the sound of running water and the beep of a microwave. I listened intently over the sound of my heartbeat for any clues as to who it was. Then, after what seemed like forever, a person suddenly reentered the room and I felt my jaw literally drop.

“What are you doing here?” I asked Shane as he approached me with a bowl in his hands.

Shane scowled at my accusing tone. “Is that anyway to talk to someone who made you food?” he replied in a jesting tone. “I said that I’d call you back and I did… repeatedly actually. When you didn’t answer, I stopped by the house, but no one came to the door, so I more or less broke in.”

“A police officer breaking into a lady’s house, how bad of you,” I managed to tease despite my very fevered state.

“I came here as a concerned citizen, not a police officer,” he said to me and his tone was laced with genuine concern. “Now, you need to eat this.”

Using as much strength as I could muster, I managed to sit up in bed and put the pillows under my back. Shane handed me the soup and I took a huge gulp right away. Thankfully, it wasn’t very hot, otherwise that could have been very bad on my part for just swallowing it.

“You shouldn’t chug it,” Shane scolded me in a playful tone. I sent a childish, but well meaning glare his way and continued to drink the soup. Shane chuckled at me as I continued to down the soup. Once I couldn’t drink anymore, I set it down.

“Shane, can you help me with something?” A blush crept onto my face as I uttered the words. This was about to get embarrassing and awkward, but I had to ask.

“Sure, what do you need help with?” Shane asked in a confident tone that was similar to the voice he used while on duty, but it was considerably softer. He took a step closer to the bed and waited for me to give a command.

“I need help getting up.” Shane stared at me for two seconds, with no emotion on his face before he finally nodded and put his hands out for me to take.

Reluctantly, I place my hands in his and grab onto them with as tightly as I can manage. Slowly, with Shane’s help, I get out of bed. At first I am shaky on my feet, but Shane managed to steady me.

“Thanks,” I mumbled embarrassedly as I pushed off of him and stumbled out of the room. With great determination, I managed to make my way to the bathroom without incident.

When I returned, Shane was sitting on the edge of the bed with a face that could be called emotionless. He was just staring at the ground. He didn’t even notice that I had walked into the room, so on impulse, I walked forward and proceeded to ruffle his hair. Shane jumped slightly at my touch. He slowly looked up at me with a small smile gracing his lips.

“Thanks for helping me out today,” I told him and I smiled brightly at him. He didn’t know how much I appreciated that he came and helped me.

Shane rubbed the back of his head and said, “No problem. You better get back to bed though. You need to get rested up by tomorrow, so you can go home.” I nodded and crawled back into bed. Being told what to do made me feel like a child, but I don’t think Shane meant it that way. “I’m going to leave now, but just call me if you need anything.”

“Thanks,” I mumbled as I closed my eyes. Almost instantly I felt myself being pulled into a sleep. I guess I was a little more tired than I thought I was. As I was pulled into the abyss of sleep, I faintly felt a hand on my cheek and I remember snuggling into its warmth.

* * *

POV Change

Shane answered his phone with a simple, “Hello.” It wasn’t really a good time to be getting a phone call. He was in the middle of a lunch date with his lady friend, or rather his sex friend. She never did take kindly to anyone interrupting their ‘dates’. It was something he hated about her, but it sure as hell did pay off later.

“Shane,” was the reply he got. He should have known that it was Claire. The phone number hadn’t been one that had been in his contacts and he didn’t know anyone else that would be bold enough to call him around noon on a Sunday.

“Hey, sorry I can’t talk right now. I’ll call you back later,” Shane mumbled as an excuse. The rest of the day was going to be hell if he pissed off his lady friend.  In response to his words, Shane’s date cocked an eyebrow at him curiously.

“Uhh sure,” Claire replied weakly and Shane frowned. He hung up, but didn’t feel good about it. There was something about Claire’s voice that set him on the edge. Normally Claire sounded strong and sassy, but just then she had sounded weak and drained of life. The gears in Shane’s head began turning in places he didn’t want to even entertain.

“Who was that?” his date asked in an annoyed tone. It wasn’t like she was annoyed by the fact that Shane had answered his phone on their date. No, she was jealous of the expression whoever had called him was currently causing.

“Just a friend,” Shane replied quicker than he should have. Now it made him seem jumpy and like something was wrong, which wasn’t necessarily false.

His date decided that she wasn’t going to push the subject and that she better just focus on their date. She was afraid that if Shane didn’t take his mind off whatever it was, she would end up dateless for the rest of the day.

After lunch, they were supposed to go back to Shane’s place for a little fun, but on the drive there, Shane was restless. Claire’s voice just kept replaying in his head and the more it did, the more on edge he became. Finally, Shane took a left and parked the car.

“This isn’t your house,” she commented as he parked in the driveway.

“I know, it’s yours,” he explained. “I’m sorry. I have something to do today, so I can’t have fun with you. At least you got a free meal out of it.”

Really, she should have been offended, or at least that’s what she figured anyone else would be, but she knew Shane. Even if she wanted him, getting angry over something like this definitely wouldn’t help her achieve that. Plus, she could just find someone else to occupy the rest of her night.

As soon as she was out of his car, Shane sped away to head to Claire. As he went a little over the speed limit, Shane pulled out his cell phone on the way and hastily dialed her number. When there was no answer he grew incredibly frustrated. With worry, Shane repeatedly dialed Claire’s phone every minute hoping that maybe she was in the shower and couldn’t hear her phone ringing. After getting back to town, he tried her phone again. It had been thirty minutes. If she was showering, Claire would definitely be out by now. There was still no answer.

When Shane got to the house, he practically jumped out of his car. With haste, he got to the door and began to ring the doorbell. When there was no answer, his hands immediately went to the door knobs. With a deep breath, he slowly turned the knob praying that is was open and at the same time hoping Claire had remembered to lock her door.

Much to Shane’s surprise, the door was unlocked and he found himself opening the door. Without thinking, he rushed inside. His eyes raced around the room. When he noticed that Claire’s coat was hanging next to the door, he became more and more worried.

“Claire!” he shouted as he took the stairway three steps at a time. Shane reached the top of the stairs and glanced to his left and to his right debating which way to check first. He decided to go with instinct and ran left to an open door. As he entered the room, he noticed the outline of a female frame amongst a pile of blankets. “God damn it,” he mumbled as he tried to find her head in the heap of fabric. His hand brushed a piece of her skin and he said, “You’re burning up.” Shane finally found Claire within the mess of fabric and pulled her into his arms. Carefully, he lifted her off the ground and set her on the bed gently.

Shane hurried out of the room and started down the stairs. He decided that he had to find Claire something to eat. Judging by her condition, she probably hadn’t eaten at all. As he ran down the stairs, he mumbled to himself, “Why?”


	3. Chapter 3

After Shane had left, I pretty much slept the entire day. When I woke up the next day, I was feeling positively refreshed, but there was something poking the back of my mind. My mind, still groggy from sleep, tried to piece together why I had the nudging feeling in my brain. When my eyes landed on the bedside table, it was like I instantly woke up. Fuck. I quickly reached for my cell phone and turned on the screen. To my horror, I had five missed calls from my mom and ten text messages.

I scrolled through the messages of worry from my mother. It was surprising, because my mother never worried about me, which I don’t know whether it’s from lack of caring or too much trust. Personally, I think it’s from lack of caring. I scrolled through the messages absentmindedly and finally the last on the list, which is the first one I got, caught my attention. "I'll cover for your ass tonight, but you better be home tomorrow," it read, which it meant that my mom was going to cover for me so that my dad didn’t find out that she didn’t know where I was. Honestly, it did make a hell of a lot more sense that my dad was the one freaking out. While I wouldn’t call him extremely overprotective, he did worry about me.

With a sigh, I rolled out of bed reluctantly. The house wasn’t cold, but it wasn’t as warm as the bed either, which made me sad when my warm feet touched the room temperature wood floor. A small shiver went up my spine and I quickly grabbed a change of clothes out of the dresser. With haste, I then hurried off to the bathroom to take a shower.

I made sure to take my time and wash all the germs from the sickness off of me. It wouldn’t be good if I were to get sick again. I had work and school; neither did I want to miss. When I was finished, I dried myself and got dressed. I quickly blow dried my hair so that my parents wouldn't wonder where I took a shower. Once it was all dry, I applied some quick styling (aka a pony tail) and rushed down the stairs.

Before leaving, I double checked to make sure that all the lights were shut off. When I was positive that I hadn’t missed any, I turned the thermostat down like a responsible child. The house didn’t need to be heated if I wasn’t going to be here. I took a step out of the house and locked the door.

Next time I came back to the house, I decided that I would clean the place completely; make sure there were no sick germs left.

Only now did I regret not taking my car yesterday. While it wasn’t cold out, home was on the other side of town, so it would just take forever to walk the entire way. With a shrug, I continued on my way. I guess I would have plenty of time to come up with a good excuse as to why I wasn’t home last night.

I turned the corner onto the street and glanced at the house. It was like the blood in my veins had suddenly turned to ice. With a shaky breath, I placed one foot on the front steps to the house. I released the breath and took another step, which was followed by another. Eventually, I reached the door. This was it. My excuse had to be good or I was going to get grilled. I spared one last glance over my shoulder at the now risen sun. It was going to be a hot day.

My hand latched onto the door handle and I began to feel the fake confidence I had been telling myself that I needed to have. Casually, I swung the door open and strode in like I had done a million times before. My confidence faded slightly when I saw my mom sitting right next to the door with a cup of coffee in her hands, which effectively caught me off guard and scared the absolute shit out of me.

A startled noise escaped my lips and my hand flew to my heart. "Jesus mom, you scared the shit out of me!" I told her in complete honesty. I took a couple of deep breaths and tried to calm my heart.

"Where were you yesterday?" she practically shouted at me without any warning. Ouch.

"I was at a friend’s house," I told her, hoping that she'd believe me. While it wasn’t technically a lie, it wasn’t the full truth either, so I was able to say it with more confidence than I would have thought.

"No you weren't," she told me with absolute certainty. There was no way she could know that I wasn’t at a friend’s house unless she called my friends, which I think I’m going to have to have a discussion with them if they can’t even cover for me for one night.

"How would you know that I wasn't?" I asked defensively, which probably wasn’t the best move, but I was starting to panic.

"I called your friends and they both said that they hadn't seen you." She gave me her death glare, but it really didn't bother as much as she would have liked. After having it used on me endlessly for years, it kind of loses its power.

"Well, I was at a friend's house. I have more than two friends you know." I still wasn’t completely lying.

"Oh, so what's your friend's name?" I really didn't want to take this conversation further. This lie would get too big soon and I would have to tell the truth.

"Edith," I replied smoothly.

"What is this Edith's last name?" That was a question I really didn’t want to hear.

"Mom, I think it's time we had a talk." At least I could try to control the situation. "I've been taking care of a friend’s house for her while he’s away." My mom stared at me in shock and her jaw hung slightly open. "I plan to continue taking care of the place for her, so would you like to have the address?"

"If you were simply taking care of her house for her that would be one thing, but as far as I know, you’ve been staying there. A young woman should not be staying alone in a house, even if she’s doing it for a friend." Lori was standing now and she didn’t look happy.

"Mom," I said trying to calm her, "I’m only staying there when I need to. I would have been home yesterday, but I got sick and didn’t want to leave the bed for fear of only making it worse."

My mom moved to the kitchen to get more coffee. When she got stressed, she drank coffee like a maniac. "If you can get your dad to agree to it then I'll go along with it," she said as she poured herself another cup.

"Ok," I said happily. My dad would probably agree to anything that I asked. I was his little girl, although I was not so little anymore. It was obvious that my mom thought he would side with her. "I'm going to go get ready for work."

Before she could say anything, I walked away. I rushed upstairs and quickly  switched into my work clothes and headed out of the house, but stopped just before leaving.

"Oh, by the way, I get off around six. I have a long shift tonight," I told my mom and then left. I was really not looking forward to working this eleven hour shift.

* * *

When I got home from work, my parents were waiting for me at the dinner table. My father looked bored out of his mind and Lori looked like she was going to start yelling at any moment. She was probably saving it for me though. As I approached them quietly, I was able to pick up on their conversation. They were currently talking about the weather. I didn’t know whether to laugh or be appalled by their topic choice.

My mom noticed me enter the room about thirty seconds after I actually entered the room. She stopped the conversation immediately and put on a cool face. Slowly, she slid a chair out with her foot and waited for me to take a seat.

"Claire, I want you to tell your father what you told me and then tell him what you want to do." Lori said the words in a sweet and friendly tone, but her body language was anything but those two things.

"Well, Dad," I said, putting emphasis on Dad. I didn’t need the overly sweet tone, because I knew that my normal voice would work on my dad. "I want to semi move out of the house." He raised an eyebrow curiously, but didn’t speak, which I took as a good sign. "I'll let Mom and you know exactly where I'll be staying. You are free to come over and look around the place if you want. This will help teach me responsibility and you can still have some control." My dad still looked unsure so I added, “I also promised my friend that I’d watch over her house for her.” His expression changed slightly, but I still wasn’t sure if I had won.

"It's absurd, right?" my mom stated more than asked. She smirked at me in triumph; positive that she had won.

"I think it's a good idea," he replied and my mom practically fainted right there. "If she has to take care of a house for a friend and they have no one else to do it, then we can’t really make her break a promise. Plus, it will be a good change to teach her how to function in a household by herself."

"Well, I'm putting my foot down. You're not moving out." Lori narrowed her eyes at me.

“You already said that if Dad agreed to it then you would let me.” I smiled deviously and my father tried to hide a small smile that was threatening to spread across his face. "So, I can't move out on my next day off, but maybe the one after that. I have to go discuss this matter with my friend that owns the house as soon as I can."

My dad tried his hardest not to look proud of me, but I could tell he was by the glint in his eyes. “Why don’t you leave, so your mom and I can talk for a while?”

I nodded and left the room, but just went to a wall and pressed my ear against it so that I could hear everything that they were saying.

“Aren’t you worried?” my mom asked him in an obviously pissed off tone.

“Worried about what?” he asked in a defensive tone. “Claire is a smart girl, so we shouldn’t have anything to worry about.”

“Aren’t you concerned that she’ll throw parties and have boys over?” I refrained from laughing at my mom. That was one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever heard.

“Lori, in all the years that we’ve spent watching over Claire, have you ever seen her so much as glance at a guy?” There was a long moment of silence before my dad started talking again, “No? Neither have I, so I’m not really concerned. I’m actually suspicious that she might be a lesbian.”

I bit hard into my lip to keep from laughing at that one. Really, he thought that I might be a lesbian? If only he knew the truth. He wouldn’t be so happy about me moving out then and he would probably kill his best friend.

“She is not a lesbian!” I heard my mother shout. Did she have something against gay people?

“I’m not saying she is one. I just wouldn’t exactly be surprised if she was.”

I broke away from the wall in disinterest. They were just going to start fighting again. I left the house in favor of going out into our backyard to call up Old Lady Winters.

The phone rang twice before an elderly voice said, “Hello.”

“Hey, Edith,” I said.

“Oh, Claire, it’s so nice of you to call me. Is the house doing fine?”

“Yes, I’ve been taking very good care of the house.”

“Oh, then how are you doing?” She is such a caring lady.

“I’ve been doing great lately. How are things with Vincent?”

“He’s doing great and married life has been really good. I just wish that I’d met him sooner.”

“It may have taken you sixty years to find your true-love, but at least you found it,” I told her.

“Have you found yours yet?” she teased me and my face turned absolutely red.

“No,” I told her. “I doubt that I’m quite that lucky.”

“Oh, you don’t know that. Maybe it’s one of the boys in your English class.” I practically fell over laughing. None of the guys in my English class were hardly worth a look. They are still immature little boys in my eyes.

“I don’t think any of them are it,” I told her.

“Well, don’t worry, you’re seventeen, you still got time. So, what were you calling for?”

“Well, I was wondering if you wanted to have a little extra company this weekend?”

“I’ll get to fixing up the guest bedroom right away.” I heard a door shut in the background. Was she getting on it already?

“Just calm down, you have a week until I come over.”

“If I do it now then I won’t have to worry about doing it later,” she whined.

“Well, don’t stress yourself out and I’ll see you Friday?” I asked her.

“Okie dokie! I’ll see you then, bye.”

“Bye,” I told her and then she hung up on me.

As I went back into the house, I was genuinely excited for Friday.


	4. Chapter 4

The week went by faster than I expected, which I was grateful for. Ever since my dad sided with me, the fights had gotten worse. I’m sure that I should feel guilty about giving them something to fight about, but I just couldn’t get myself to care. Soon, I would be out of the house and I wouldn’t have to worry about their fights.  
   
I was just finishing up my weekly cleaning of the house when the doorbell rang. Quickly, I threw down the rag and hurried to the front door. Cautiously, I peered out the curtain, and to my shock, Shane was standing at the door looking as impatient, don’t forget sexy, as ever. My hands fumbled for the knob and I practically threw open the door.  
   
“Were you expecting someone else?” he asked curiously. I tried not to blush like a virgin as he looked at my cleaning outfit. It wasn’t exactly the most flattering outfit.  
   
Composing myself, I said, “No, I was just surprised that I had company. Do you want to come in?” I stepped away from the door slightly and motioned that he could come in, which he did. “Do you want something to drink?”  
   
“Do you have fresh coffee made?” he asked as we walked into the kitchen.  
   
“Actually, I do.” I ran to go get a coffee cup. “Do you want any sugar or milk?” I heard Shane chuckle at me, but I ignored it.  
   
“No, I like mine black,” he replied as I poured him some coffee and handed him the cup. He sipped it and then smiled.  
   
“So, what do you need?” I tried to busy myself with fiddling with something, so that I wouldn’t stare at him. Shit, since when did I become a shy, blushing maiden?  
   
“I just wanted to congratulate you. Rick has been telling me a lot about your schemes lately. He’s quite proud of you, mostly about you standing up to Lori though.” I guess I should have known that he’d talk about it with Shane.  
   
“Then you must know that I’ll be moving into here permanently soon, right?”  
   
“He told me all about that. Did he tell you that he wants you to get a roommate?”  
   
“No, but I already had planned on getting one. I have a friend that’s been looking to move out of their parents’ house and for good reasons too. His parents are assholes.”  
   
Shane practically chocked on his coffee. When he finally regained his composure, he said, “Your dad wants you to get a roommate that’s a girl I think. Rick would probably lose his shit if he knew that you plan on moving a guy into the house.” Shane rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.  
   
I started laughing at Shane’s rushed sentences. “Don’t worry, my friend is gay. That’s why he wants to move out. His parents weren’t so accepting of his newly found self.” A slight blush crept over Shane’s cheeks, which was insanely cute on him. I leaned over the counter towards him and smiled. “You know, when I kissed you I meant it. I’m not the type to go after multiple guys, so you don’t have to worry about me having others at my beck and call.”  
   
Shane’s face got considerably redder. “I was just speaking as your father’s friend,” he said in defense.  
   
I glanced up at the clock and sighed. “Want to make yourself useful?” Shane furrowed his eye brows in curiosity. “Help me carry my things out to the car?”  
  
Shane took a couple of long drinks of his coffee before rinsing it out in the sink. "What do you need me to carry?"  
  
I walked over to the fridge and pulled out a tray of bars and then grabbed a Tupperware of cookies off the counter. "Can you put these in the back of the car?"  
  
Shane nodded and took them from me. As he went to the garage, I went upstairs and grabbed my suit case. When I came into the garage, I was shocked. Shane was in the middle of loading someone's suit case into my trunk.  
  
"What are you doing?" I asked in shock.  
  
"Did you really think that you were going to go to Atlanta alone?"  
  
"Yes," I told him. Edith didn't need too many guests. Her apartment wasn't that big. (She was living a lot more modestly than she was before.)  
  
"Well, would you rather have Rick or I go with you?" he asked as he took my suit case from me.  
  
"I guess neither of you would be unpleasant to have with me." I wasn't about to chose favorites.  
  
"Well, your dad couldn't get this weekend off, so he sent me to watch over you." I had to agree that this did make a lot of sense. This seemed like something my dad would do.  
  
"Fine, you can come with." Like I really had a choice in the matter and honestly I didn’t really want to argue spending more time with Shane. I was just hoping that he wouldn’t be too much of a distraction during the drive. "Do you need anything else?"  
  
"Can I put my car in the garage before we leave?"  
  
"Sure, I'll open the door for you." It was nice having a two stall garage.  
  
Once Shane's car was safely in the confines of the garage, I backed the car out and double checked that everything was locked. When I was absolutely certain that no one would break into the house, I rejoined Shane in my car.  
  
"Ready?" I asked him and he nodded. This was going to be a long car ride.  
  
OoOoOoOoO  
  
I parked the car in front of the apartment building. Quickly, I texted Edith that we had arrived and then waited for her to come open the front door of the apartment building. Shane had our suit cases and I had the cookies and bars.  
  
When Edith finally arrived, she wore a big goofy grin. "I was beginning to think that you'd never show up," she teased me as she let us in. "My, who's this handsome man you brought with?"  
  
"He's my parole officer, so hide the drugs," I told her.  
  
"Oh dear, it's a good thing I used the last of my stash last night," she said as she led us into the apartment.  
  
Shane gave me a funny look and I just said, "She's joking so relax." His shoulders visibly slackened and I restrained a laugh. Was he really concerned that this sweet old lady was doing drugs?  
  
"I'm afraid I only have one spare bedroom, so you'll have to share a room," Edith informed us as we entered the guest bedroom.  
  
I glance up at Shane and his face was tinted red. Things were getting interesting. Shane set out things next to the closet while I followed Edith out of the room and to the kitchen.  
  
"Do the bars need to be refrigerated?" she asked me.  
  
"They don't have to be unless you keep it so hot in here that they'll melt," I informed her. "I baked your favorite cookies for you."  
  
She practically ripped the container of cookies from my hands and peered in to inspect them. Carefully, she took a cookie and ate it. She sighed afterwards.  
  
"I missed your baking so much. I swear these are filled with crack. They're so addictive." She set the cookies down and wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug. "I really missed you."  
  
"Me too," I said as I hugged her back. "I don't get time off work very often."  
  
"I understand an I'm sure that handsome man you brought with you keeps you plenty busy." I shook my head at her.  
  
"We're not like that," I told her. At least not yet, I was still hopeful.  
  
"I won't press it any further," she said and moments later Shane walked into the room looking incredibly awkward and lost.  
  
Silence settled over the room for a short time until we heard the front door open. I rushed to the door and wrapped my arms around Vincent.  
  
"There's the man that took Edith from me," I teased and then took grocery bags from him.  
  
"Claire, it's a pleasant surprise to see you," he said as he followed me into the kitchen.  
  
"Edith didn't tell you that I'd be coming to visit this weekend?" He shook his head. "That's so like her," I said loudly as I set the bags down on the table.  
  
Vincent noticed Shane standing by the table and extended his hand to him. "You must be Claire's boyfriend. It's nice to meet you."  
  
I stared in horror at Vincent. Did he really just ask that? I almost yelled no, but was cut off by Shane's reply.  
  
"Yes," Shane replied as he shook Vincent's hand.  
  
Wait, did he just... Oh my god... There were no words for the denial that ran through my mind in that moment. To further my shock, Shane wrapped an arm around my shoulder and said something. I just stood there numbly, not knowing what to do.  
  
Edith smiled and told me, "I'll start the steaks. Oh, Shane are you alright with eating steak?"  
  
"I couldn't imagine anything better," he replied as he flashed her a charming smile.  
  
Edith smiled and addressed me, "Claire, you really got a keeper here. He's so nice and polite."  
  
I felt my face redden considerably. "Umm do you need help with anything?"  
  
"No, just got back to the guest room and relax a while."  
  
I didn't even get the chance to respond before Shane pulled me away.  
  
"What are you doing?" I said in a high pitched voice. At this point, I had to look like a tomato.  
  
"What?" Shane asked me. "You don't want to be my girlfriend?"  
  
"It's not that, I didn't think we were exactly together!" I kept my voice lowered so that Edith and Vincent wouldn't hear it, but I wasn't sure that I was succeeding.  
  
"Well, not yet." Shane put a hand on my cheek and brushed his thumb over my lips. "I was thinking that tomorrow would be a fantastic opportunity for a date." He leaned down and brought his lips to mine. It was like heaven. He broke the kiss and moved his lips to my ear. "How does that sound?"  
  
I whimpered slightly at the feeling of his breath on my ear. "Devine," I mumbled as he leaned away from me.  
  
"Perfect. I'm going to go socialize with Vincent. Join us when you want to." Shane left the room and I practically collapsed.  
  
Holy shit. When I first kissed Shane, I did not think it would evolve into a date this fast. Was I mentally prepared? Then again, what did it matter? I would just go with the flow.

After minutes of mentally preparing myself, I left the bedroom and joined Shane and Vincent in the living room. The rest of the night was filled with laughing, playing games, and just over all goofiness. By the time everyone was ready to go to bed, I was on the verge of passing out.

I collapsed on the bed. I didn’t even have the strength to crawl under the covers. Shane shook me and I groaned in response.

“Come on Claire, you’ll get cold unless you cover yourself up,” Shane scolded me.

He pulled me into an upright position and I grumbled as I stood up. Reluctantly, I crawled under the blankets and snuggled into the warmth. There must be a bed warmer on.

“Are you going to join me?” I asked sleepily.

“Yeah, just hold on,” he said as he rounded the other side of the bed. There was the rustling of clothing and then I felt another weight on the bed. “No need to worry,” he informed me. “I’ll sleep on top of the sheet.”

“Do you really think I’m concerned about you attacking me in the night?” I mumbled.

“No, it’s more for my sake than yours.” I smiled. “Your dad would be so pissed right now if he knew that we were sharing a bed.”

“Not exactly my fault that we’re sharing a bed. I wasn’t the one that made you come along.”

“True, but you’re also the girl that’s sharing a bed with a man that she’s not even had a date with.”

“That’s better than a one night stand, because there’s the promise that I will date you,” I retorted.

“That there is,” he mumbled right before I fell asleep.


End file.
